Days before Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath as Chief Minister of Delhi, AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi expressed unease about the party's decision to extend outside support to the AAP government, saying the Congress should not have got involved in the government formation exercise. However, he asserted that since the decision to support the AAP has already been taken, "there is no going back".

"But it should be clear that outside support is never unconditional. It is always issue-based," Dwivedi told The Indian Express. His remarks came amid protests by Congress workers against the party's decision. The Delhi Congress unit, which is said to be upset about AAP continuing to attack the party, is likely to write to Kejriwal demanding restraint and specifying the broad parameters for its support.

"There is an opinion in the party that the decision to support the AAP was probably not correct. They say that Delhi voters have not given even enough support to the Congress to claim the post of the Leader of Opposition. It would have been appropriate for us to leave it to others to form the government and we should have played the role of a constructive opposition party. We didn't have to play a role in forming the government. Having said that, now that we have extended our support, there is no going back," said Dwivedi.

The Congress was quick to announce its support to the AAP, with party strategists concluding that a repoll would benefit either the AAP or BJP. The party's eight MLAs were also not willing to seek a repoll, as they were apprehensive that the Muslims who had stayed with the Congress would shift to the AAP that has emerged as an alternative to the BJP.

As per the Congress's assessment, the AAP government will soon lose its credibility as it will not be able to deliver on its manifesto promises within the given time frame. This would give the Congress an opportunity to pull the plug in the next four-five months.

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